Feythabolis: Co2 and DRF Lock Horns in AZN-D2

AZN-D2 system, Feythabolis region. On the 12th of August at 23:21 EVE Standard Time, a battle unfolded in the system between forces belonging to Circle-Of-Two [CO2] and Phoenix Federation (PF)/Drone Regions Federation (DRF).

The battle was fought over a large number of timers created by Phoenix Federation and Drone Regions Federation in their conflict with Circle-Of-Two over the Feythabolis region. The conflict was started by Circle-Of-Two forces in a bid to increase their renter space at the expense of SOLAR FLEET [SOLAR]’s holdings in the region. SOLAR FLEET, being a member of the Drone Regions Federation, brought the coalition down to defend the space and rebuff Circle-Of-Two’s attempts to expand. The conflict quickly moved into Circle-Of-Two’s territory with Drone Regions Federation targeting the Circle-Of-Two’s renter alliance Band of Backstabbers [BoB] while Phoenix Coalition forces mobilized to aid Drone Regions Federation as part of their mutual alliance.

more than 20 timers were set to expire

On the night of the 12th more than 20 timers were set to expire, making Territorial Claim Units, Infrastructure Hubs and even Outposts vulnerable for capture. Drone Regions and Phoenix Federation forces worked in concert to contest them, each fielding a Ferox battlecruiser fleet to guard Entosis operations. Drone Regions Federation fielded 230 pilots while Pheonix Federation mustered 110. Both fleets had remained vigilant for several hours, ready to engage Circle-Of-Two forces in case it mobilized in defense of any of the timers.

For several hours the two fleets remained in the AZN-D2 system without opposition. Circle-Of-Two did at one point attempt to mobilize its super capital forces, however, low turnout caused its fleet commanders to disperse the fleet, motivated as well by the fact that Drone Regions and Phoenix Federation had quickly gathered a counter force of dreadnoughts and carriers. Thus Drone Regions Federation and Phoenix Federation were allowed to continue their operations unabated for a few more hours before Circle-Of-Two attempted once again to disrupt their efforts.

Circle-Of-Two gathered a 180 pilot Apocalypse battleship fleet

Circle-Of-Two gathered a 180 pilot Apocalypse battleship fleet, a new doctrine designed to counter the Ferox fleets its enemies have been fielding for some time. The battleships bridged into the system on a safe citadel and warped after some time to a ping near one of the Ferox fleets over at the QBH5-F gate. The battleships exited their warp tunnels only to be greeted by a squadron of Drone Regions Federation stealth bombers. The frigates de-cloaked and unleashed their deadly payload destroying a few logistics ships in the process as well as a few support ships, while also spreading damage across the mass of battleships. This caused the Apocalypse fleet to turn around and warp back to the citadel in order to repair the damage caused by the bombing run. During this extraction, a few stragglers were caught by the Ferox fleets which pounced on the opportunity. A whole squadron of battleships was quickly dispatched by the railguns of the battlecruisers and an uneasy silence fell upon the system once more.

With the battleships camped on the Fortizar, the two Ferox fleets once again separated, each sitting on a different ping near the gate. The battleships chose to warp back in after a few minutes and landed on the same ping as before, trying to get the drop on the smaller Ferox fleet which belonged to Phoenix Federation. The Drone Regions Federation fleet warped in and the two Ferox fleets closed the distance with the battleships which opened fire and concentrated hundreds of beam laser turrets at the battlecruisers, targeting command and mainline ships. The Ferox fleets answered in kind as the grid descended into a bloody brawl.

From the start the battleships were in a disadvantage as the battlecruisers burnt in and kept the fight at close range. Railguns pummeled at the large hulls at near point blank range, targeting the few Scorpion battleships embedded in the fleet which served as electronic warfare platforms. With the Scorpions destroyed, the battlecruisers turned their attention to the logistics cruisers who had already lost some of their number thanks to the previous bombing run. The battleships were unable to track well the battlecruisers, their beam lasers designed for medium to long range engagements. Even so, the battleships managed to get a few good hits on their opposition with the combined light beams penetrating shields and melting the fragile hulls below.

The initial exchange proved rather even as battlecruisers and battleships were felled in equal numbers. However, the Drone Regions Federation and Phoenix Federation had a clear numeric advantage over its opponents, not to mention the aid of its bomber squadron which swooped in as the battle heated to drop more bombs in the midst of the battleship formation. With two fleets pummeling the battleships and the bombers adding their payloads to the mix, the logistics wing of Circle-Of-Two was quickly overwhelmed and more ships were lost as the logistics cruisers became overtaxed by the situation. Worse yet, the Ferox fleets swiftly put the logistics cruisers in their sights and barrage after barrage saw the few remaining logistics cruisers annihilated.

Circle-Of-Two attempted to bring in reinforcements

Losing ships fast and with the logistics wing all but gone, Circle-Of-Two attempted to bring in reinforcements in the form of force auxiliaries. A cynosural beacon was lit on the field and a single Ninazu force auxiliary entered the fray, accompanied by an Archon combat carrier. This was mainly due to the rushed nature of the request for reinforcements, with Circle-Of-Two forces not having prepared such ships beforehand in case of escalation or mounting losses. The Ninazu attempted to do its best, entering triage mode and using its capital remote armor repairers to supplement the logistics cruisers, but was unable to keep up as the Ferox fleets kept switching targets and tearing into more battleships.

Battleship after battleship was ripped apart by the Ferox fleets causing the trade between the two sides to grow more and more lopsided. At one point the number of battleships had dwindled so much that the Ferox fleets’ logistics wings were able to catch battlecruisers in low shields and keep them alive. The same could hardly be said for Circle-Of-Two whose losses kept piling up without reprieve. Half an hour after the fight had begun the battleship fleet was in tatters, most of the ships having been destroyed by the battlecruisers which pressed their advantage. Targeting the capital ships, both the Ninazu and Archon came under heavy coordinated fire. Within the same minute the two ships were brought down by the constant plasma barrage, exploding in great fireballs that signaled the demise of the battleship fleet.

Clearing the last stragglers, Drone Regions Federation and Phoenix Federation continued their entosis work unhindered, their fleets having won a major victory. With Circle-Of-Two not attempting to contest their control, the two coalitions continued their work, resulting in seven stations turned to freeports, one captured, four systems captured and 10 infrastructure hubs destroyed in the process, according to Drone Regions Federation and Phoenix Federation reports. With this, the battle for AZN-D2 came to an end.

The Battle from the perspective of the Drone Regions Federation Ferox Battlecruiser Fleet